The women’s vocal ensemble Putni, which has received accolades both in Latvia and abroad, is scheduled to tour the United States with a series of 14 concerts in late October into mid-November.
Sponsored by the cultural organization TILTS, the tour will take the eight women from Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., to Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and then to New York. Five of the concerts, said ensemble leader Antra Dreģe, will be in Latvian and American schools.
Formed in 1993, Putni has earned several international awards. The ensemble also has released four compact discs, the most recent of which is last year’s Hildegardes dziesmas, a recording of songs composed by Georgs Pelēcis.
The concert program is to include mostly Latvian music by composers such as Pēteris Vasks, Maija Enfelde, Valts Puce, Anita Mieze, Juris Vaivods and others.
The ensemble’s first apperance, Dreģe said, will be a live broadcast with the women’s vocal ensemble Tapestry on WGBH-FM in Boston. The two ensembles will perform the debut of a new composition by Robert Kyr and Pēteris Aldiņš, founder of the Latvian-American ensemble Kolibri. The broadcast is scheduled 3 p.m. Eastern time Oct. 26 on Richard Knisley’s “Classical Performances” program. The concert also will be available online.
The ensemble’s nine public concerts are scheduled:
- In Massachusetts at 8 p.m. Oct. 27 in the First Church Congregational of Cambridge, 11 Garden St. (by Harvard Square), Cambridge. The concert is organized by the women’s ensemble Tapestry.
- In Massachusetts at 1 p.m. Oct. 29 in the “Trimda” Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 58 Irving St., Brookline.
- In the Washington, D.C., area at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Washington, 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, Md. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organizations of Washington.
- In Ohio at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 in the United Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 1385 Andrews Ave., Lakewood. The concert is organized by the Latvian Concert Association of Cleveland.
- In Minnesota at 4 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 3152 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organization Association of Minnesota.
- In Minnesota at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at 625 N. 5th St., Stillwater. The concert is organized by the Latvian Organization Association of Minnesota.
- In Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in Davies Center, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire. The concert is organized by the Baltic Student Organization.
- In New York at 8 p.m. Nov. 17 in St. Joseph’s Church Yorkville, 404 E. 87th St., New York. The concert is organized by the New Amsterdam Singers and TILTS.
- In New York at 2 p.m. Nov. 18 during an Independence Day celebration in the Yonkers branch of the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of New York, 254 Valentine Lane, Yonkers. The concert is organized by the Council of Latvian Organizations in New York.
For further information about Putni, visit www.music.lv/putni.
The women’s vocal ensemble Putni tours the United States in late October through mid-November.
